Benson Henderson's win clouds UFC lightweight title picture

The only thing that seems certain about the UFC’s lightweight title picture these days is that, no matter who gets the next crack at champion Anthony Pettis, it likely won’t be Benson Henderson.

On the surface, that might seem a little strange. It was Henderson, after all, who emerged victorious in Saturday’s UFC on FOX 10 main event, a split-decision win against Josh Thomson.

But for Henderson, the persistent problem is not whether he wins or loses, but how.

“As far as Ben Henderson fights go, this is the typical Ben Henderson fight,” UFC President Dana White told KVVU Fox 5 Las Vegas after the bout. “This is the way his fights go. He’s a grinder, and he grinds out decisions.”

If it sounds as if White is not terribly thrilled with the modus operandi of his former lightweight titleholder, that’s likely because he isn’t.

Henderson has earned a string of narrow decisions in his UFC tenure and is 0-2 against Pettis. In this latest performance, White said, “(Henderson) didn’t do anything that’s going to have anybody screaming, â€˜Oh, I want to see him get another shot at Pettis.'”

But if not Henderson then who?

That’s the question many UFC lightweights are asking this week. The last man to be promised a title shot in the division was Thomson, who saw that opportunity disappear when Pettis was sidelined with a knee injury that likely will keep him out until at least this summer.

That leaves the door wide open for other top lightweights, such as former Strikeforce champion Gilbert Melendez, who also suffered a split-decision loss to Henderson in his first crack at the UFC title. Melendez rebounded with a victory against Diego Sanchez in October.

It was the type of slugfest that might put him back in title contention now that other candidates such as Thomson and T.J. Grant, who reportedly is still dealing with symptoms stemming from a concussion, have fallen off.

The problem is, with Pettis likely out for at least the first half of the year, it could be a long wait between paychecks for Melendez. Some fighters in similar situations have taken a fight in the interim only to see their fortunes change suddenly with a loss.

Others have preferred to sit out but then have found much can change in a few months, especially when others in the division continue to build their case for a title shot in the meantime.

As for Henderson, he probably will have to do a lot more, or at least do it more impressively, if he wants the UFC brass to consider granting him a third shot at Pettis. The win against Thomson might not have achieved that goal right away, Henderson’s coach John Crouch said, but it’s still better than a loss.

“We’re trying,” Crouch told USA TODAY Sports and MMAjunkie. “We’re doing the best we can with what we’ve got, which is all you can do.”